Mountain climb to raise charity cash

The outdoor education students at Northumberland College, who will climb to the top of Mount Toubkal in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco for charity.

Published:08:51Friday 07 February 2014

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Youngsters at a county college are raising funds for a challenging charity trek to the top of the highest mountain in North Africa.

The group of ten Level 3 outdoor education students at Northumberland College are organising the trip as part of their course, where they have to plan, prepare and carry out an expedition as independently as possible.

The expedition team, which also includes two tutors from the college, will climb the 4,167 metres to the summit of Mount Toubkal in the Atlas mountains of Morocco over a five-day period.

They will fly to Marrakech on Saturday, June 7, and then on to Imlil in the Atlas mountains, where they will spend two days acclimatising before continuing the acclimatisation process en route to the summit.

The ascent of Mount Toubkal will involve trekking through remote valleys and over high altitude passes for five days.

Tutor Carl Halliday said: “The main aim of the expedition is to reach the summit of Mount Toubkal, but what the students get out of this trip goes far beyond that.

“When they leave college and enter the outdoor industry, they will be required to organise a wide variety of events, activities and expeditions.

“Planning this trip helps them to develop essential skills, knowledge and vital experience relevant to their chosen career paths.”

The students will use half the money for travel costs and will donate half of any sponsorship money raised to a Moroccan charity called Education For All, which provides the opportunity of a college education for girls from rural communities, who otherwise would not continue their education beyond primary school due to the cost of education .

Anyone who would like to sponsor the students can contact Carl on carl.halliday@northland.ac.uk or call (01670) 841229.